2014 The Annual Lighthouse Relay, Race to the Sea Leading Edge Credit Union January 2015 1 | P a g e The Project: A relay race?! Here?! Welcome to Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador, population: 4319. We are the “Gateway to Newfoundland”; the home port of the Gulf of St. Lawrence ferry service, known for our friendly people, rugged landscape, and famous relay race – wait, what?! Ok, so maybe we are not famous yet, but we hope that someday we are known for the Leading Edge Credit Union Annual Lighthouse Relay “Race to the Sea”. Watch the video to get a better picture of what our race is all about. You can access the video via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VPtfn6DvxM. The Annual Lighthouse Relay Race, Race to the Sea was designed to integrate fitness into the tourism sector in a fun and interactive way for the betterment of the local tourism economy. The Race begins at a picturesque lighthouse in Cape Anguille, and ends 120 kilometers later at the 143-year-old stone heritage structure, the Rose Blanche Lighthouse. The race route consists of 11 individual legs and it takes runners over a variety of terrains, including pavement, gravel, rail bed, and sandy beach. The Race travels through 14 communities and some of the most beautiful scenery in the province, incorporating the region’s four lighthouses along its path (pictured here from top, left to right: Cape Anguille Lighthouse; Channel Head Lighthouse, Cape Ray Lighthouse, and Rose Blanche Lighthouse). 1 | P a g e Humble Beginnings The Annual Lighthouse Relay, Race to the Sea, is an initiative that was first developed in 2003 by the Marine and Mountain Zone Corporation, a local economic development board in Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. The Race was designed to integrate fitness and tourism in a fun and interactive way, while providing a much needed boost to the local economy. The Race has been held each summer since 2003, usually during the second weekend of August. The first race had only eight teams (88 athletes) and, since then, the Race has experienced steady, organic growth to its current count of 14 teams (154 athletes) in 2014. The Race participation peaked at 15 teams (165 athletes) in 2012, which celebrated the Race’s 10th anniversary. Leading Edge Credit Union (LECU) has been involved with this race, in one form or another, since its inception. This event also benefits from a very dedicated and passionate group of volunteers who, year after year, give their time, talent, and experience to making this an exceptional running (and exceptionally well-run) event. And as with nearly all community events, our staff members have been participants, volunteers and cheerleaders. Throughout the years, the Race to the Sea has OUR CSR VISION experienced a number of ownership challenges. In 2008, when government "Leading Edge Credit Union will be a leader in mandated the economic development enhancing the long-term viability of the boards of the province to divest the communities it serves; Our CSR practices will be initiatives under their ownership to integrated throughout our business operations community partners, Leading Edge Credit and will deliver social, economic and Union saw an excellent opportunity to put environmental benefits to our members, our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communities, and other stakeholders". vision to work. From 2008 to 2013, Port aux Basques and Area Chamber of Commerce partnered with LECU to plan and implement this important community initiative. With the guidance of the credit union and through access to its resources, the Race prospered. In fact, it was starting to become a little too big for the resource- strapped Chamber of Commerce, so in late 2013, they announced that they were taking themselves out of the Race (pardon the pun). The time had come; LECU was faced with an important decision: allow this amazing community initiative to falter, or step-up, step-in and use its special co-op powers to make this Race something that the community could continue to be proud of. …and the Leading Edge Credit Union’s Annual Lighthouse Relay, Race to the Sea was born! The Race Incorporates ICA's sixth co- LECU's CSR operative principle: Demonstrated objectives into a Concern for Economic Need proven, Community economically beneficial initiative 2 | P a g e Visions of Grandeur We have a dream. Well, lots of dreams, actually. As the saying goes, “anything worth doing is worth doing well”. Up to this point, the Race to the Sea has been a break-even project; it has experienced peaks and valleys (another pun!), and LECU has been there through every one. The 2013 decision by LECU to take over ownership of the Race brought with it the need for some real soul-searching. As a credit union, we had to look closely at what the strategic direction of the Race would be. The Race to the Sea has seen slow but steady growth since its inaugural run in 2003. The growth has largely been based on the word-of-mouth promotion from its small, but dedicated, group of returning runners. We feel we are on the cusp of We’re not kidding! something big. Our little race has been gaining recognition from serious Click here runners who love the race’s atmosphere of fun, informal competition. This for the full article! race really has something for every runner. The semi-professional and professional runners can compete in the same sphere as those who are new to the lifestyle; the race provides challenges and supports for all participants. So, the question becomes: where do we see this all going? In 2014, this became a major focus for the CEO and the Board of Leading Edge Credit Union. It sounded simple enough, but the first order of business was to determine the project’s objectives. Project Objectives Raise Awarness Raise for the Tourism Identify and Provide Social Awareness of Sector of the Support and Economic LECU and the Southwest Charitable Benefits to the Credit Union Coast of Objectives Community Difference Newfoundland Tourism Awareness If you’ve turned on a T.V. in the past decade, you know that the tourism sector in Newfoundland and Labrador is alive and well. It is one of our biggest industries with total visitor expenditures of an estimated $1 billion in 2011. Between 55% and 60% of tourism spending is generated by the resident market-those living and traveling within the province1. One of the identified objectives of the Race to the Sea initiative is to increase the awareness amongst both resident and non-resident visitors about the unique tourism product here on the Southwest coast of Newfoundland. The provincial government has indicated that 1 http://www.economics.gov.nl.ca/E2014/TravelAndTourism.pdf 3 | P a g e resident tourism will benefit from solid growth in household income; it is important that the Race be effectively marketed to the provinces residents to ensure that they are aware of this unique event and this beautiful region of the province. Furthermore, it is the intention of LECU to leverage the co-operative nature of the national credit union system and its partners to generate interest in this event. This could happen in a number of ways: Credit Union employees from across Canada could participate in the Race; Sponsorships from other credit unions and system partners could help us build our initiative; Other credit unions across Canada could help raise awareness of this event by sharing the marketing materials with their own members; Think: CONTESTS! We see the potential to develop some great membership incentives or rewards that are built around an opportunity for members of other credit unions to win the chance to visit Newfoundland and participate in the Race to the Sea. We really feel that the Race to the Sea could be a signature event for the credit union movement in this country! LECU Awareness and the Credit Union Difference In today’s highly competitive financial services environment, it is becoming increasingly difficult to set ourselves apart from our chartered bank competitors. Credit unions must remain steadfast and true to our co-operative principles and become better self-advocates when it comes to touting our commitment to community. We feel that the Race can serve as a reminder to all about the credit union difference. It perfectly demonstrates the International Co-operative Alliance’s co-operative principle concern for community in a very unique way. It was felt that by aligning the Race with a high-profile community minded organization like LECU, the committee members would be able to focus their attention on growing the event, reaching more participants and using the credit union channels to gain more exposure. LECU has maintained close ties to the Race since inception through its team sponsorship and its many employees and members that have volunteered in many capacities to make it a successful event. This community mindedness has not gone unnoticed by the public. Enhancing its public role as Race to the Sea organizer and sponsor could generate additional positive publicity for the organization, leading to expanded membership. Charitable Objectives When considering the projects objectives, the CEO and Board of LECU felt strongly that, going forward, this event should include a charitable component. Although, to-date, this has been a strictly break-even initiative - the sole purpose of which to provide a boost to the local economy - the Board expressed concerns about the optics of an LECU driven initiative charging registration fees and seeking sponsorships without an identified charitable component. This objective will be one of the focuses of the 2015 Race.